Celebrity Big Brother 5 (UK)
was the highly controversial fifth season of Celebrity Big Brother. It saw 12 celebrities (as well as 2 non-celebrities) living together in the Big Brother house, participating in tasks and facing the threat of being nominated by their fellow housemates or evicted by the public. This series caused worldwide controversy due to the actions of housemates Jade, Jo, and Danielle, who were accused of bullying and displaying racist behavior towards fellow housemate Shilpa Shetty. The public outcry caused as a result of this led to UK broadcasting committee Ofcom receiving the largest number of public complaints caused by a television show. Racism Controversy Celebrity Big Brother 5 was the recipient of a large amount of controversy and public complaints due do a number of incidents of racist behavior by several housemates towards Indian actress and fellow housemate Shilpa Shetty. The majority of these complaints were directed towards Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara, and Danielle Lloyd, though Jack Tweed and Jackiey Budden also received fire from the public. Among other instances were Jade referring to Shilpa as "Shilpa Fuckawallah" and "Shilpa Daroopa" and Danielle calling Shilpa a "dog" and claiming that she should "fuck off home". By January 20 Ofcom had received 44,500 complaints from viewers about the incidents, while Channel 4 had received an additional 3000 complaints. Channel 4, which had initially referred to the events as "girlish rivalry" later admitted that bullying and racism were definitely present within the house. However, they continued to air instances of racism on the show, stating that the social dynamics of the house were a part of its narrative and viewers had the right to see events aired as accurately as possible. In response to the controversy, a number of British political officials such as Leicester East MP Keith Vaz, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, and London mayor Ken Livingstone made statements condemning the racist behavior in the house. The Indian government stated they would take "action as required" in regards to the events. Former Chairman of Channel 4 Vanni Treves called for the station to cancel the show, despite the fact that Big Brother was Channel 4's most financially successful program. Further, several of Big Brother's sponsors and advertisers either pulled their sponsorships or cancelled their advertisement deals with the show. Jade Goody, seen as the "frontrunner" of the racist incidents in the house, received the majority of backlash from the public. Her brand of perfume, Shh..., was pulled from store shelves and book publisher HarperCollins cancelled plans to publish the paperback version of Goody's autobiography. Jade also received a number of death threats, and no audience was present at her eviction to prevent any attacks against her. Following the incidents Jade publicly apologized both to Shilpa and to the public for her behavior in the house. Shilpa, who had been voted the winner of that season, stated that she accepted Jade's apology and forgave her. As a result of the controversy, Channel 4 did not air another season of Celebrity Big Brother until 2009, running Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack in its place in 2008. Twists * 'Additional Housemates: '''On Day 3 ''Big Brother 3 (UK) housemate Jade Goody as well as her boyfriend Jack and mother Jackiey entered the house. Housemates Tasks Nominations History Game History Week 1 Round 1 Round 2 Week 2 Week 3 Finale Trivia Category:Seasons Category:United Kingdom Seasons